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Thursday, 21 August 2014

Animals in War - Megan Rix / Ruth Symes

I'm busy researching my next book about animals set during WW1 and working out locations and timelines. But back in June I was asked by the Guardian to list my Top 10 animal war heroes, not just from WW1, as part of the promotion for my story set during 1914 about a cat and a dog who get sent to the front called 'A Soldier's Friend'. Of course animals don't choose to go to war or be heroes but their stories are none the less inspiring and poignant and show us how to be heroes. Researching them was so fascinating and their stories so moving and needing to be told that I share it here:

Top
10 Animal War Heroes by Megan Rix

There
are so many animals that deserve a mention that it’s impossible to list them
all here but I’ve tried to shout out for as many as I can. No animal chooses to
go to war but their selfless acts of unconscious heroism show us how to be true
heroes:

l.
The dogs:

Sergeant
Stubby was just one of 20,000 dogs serving Britain and her allies in WW1.
Messenger dogs, mercy dogs, guard dogs and mascots did their bit for King and Country.
Stubby even warned of impending gas attacks. Dogs were the first domesticated
animal and have been used in battle throughout history.The Roman Army had whole
companies of dogs wearing spiked collars around their neck and ankles.

2.
The Pigeons:

Pigeons
have been used as message carriers for over 5,000 years. Their vital messages
saved the lives of thousands in WWI and WW2. Cher Ami was given the Croix de
Guerre for her heroic message delivery that saved many soldiers’ lives, despite
being shot at and terribly injured.

3.
The Horses:

Humans
began to domesticate horses in Central Asia around 4000 BC and they've been used in warfare for
most of recorded history. They are prey animals and so their first reaction to
threat is to startleand flee. Despite this, against their natural instincts,
they’ve raced into countless battles, carrying their riders. Over 8 million
died in WW1.

4.
The Donkeys:

From
Simpson and his donkey at Gallipoli to Jimmy ‘The Sergeant’, born at The Battle
of the Somme, donkeys have saved soldiers lives and given their own. More suited
to green fields than battlefields, donkeys have been to War for as long as
horses have.

5.
The Camels:

1915
saw the formation of the Camel Brigade, but camels have been used in battle
sincethe
Roman Empire. A bonus was that the smell of the camels spooked the enemies’
horses.

6.
The Elephants:

Hannibal
wasone
of the first to use them in battle and they've been used ever since.

WWI
saw Lizzie the elephant helping out at Tommy Ward's factory and beinga star goalkeeper in a match
against a neighbouring team.Some elephants were sent to the battlefields but more took
up the heavy lifting slack in towns and in the countryside when the horses were
shipped to the Front.

7.
Cats:

Morale
boosters and rat catchers. Trench life was a little more bearable thanks to the
moggies at the Front.

8.
Tortoises:

The
tortoises that were brought back from Gallipoli, like Ali Pasha and Blake, will
be commemorated next year. But tortoises were used as mascots before WW1.
Timothy, who turned out to be a female, served as ship's mascot in the Crimean
War and Jonathan, a giant tortoise, is pictured with prisoners in the Boer War.

9.
Dolphins:

Military
trained dolphins are able to find underwater mines and rescue lost naval
swimmers. Their training is similar to how military dogs are trained, and for a
dog or a dolphin mine detection is simply a game rather than a matter of life
and death.

10.
Baboons:

Jackie
the baboon was the mascot of the 3rd SA Infantry in WW1. The baboon
drew rations, marched and drilled, and went to the nightmare of Delville Wood
and Passchendaele. He was injured whilst desperately trying to build a wall of
stones around himself as protection from the flying shrapnel. Jackie’s leg was
amputated but he got to go home at the end of the War. Millions of humans and
other animals didn’t.

*****While I was doing my research I came across the sad fact that poor Anne the circus elephant rescued from cruelty in a circus a few years ago and moved to Longleat is now expected to live out her days alone there as it's been decided it would be better for her to be a solitary elephant despite elephants being one of the most social family orientated species. It makes me feel sick especially when you see the wonderful reunion of elephants that have been rescued, most of them old and having suffered abuse like Anne, at the Tennesse sanctuary on You Tube

7 comments:

That's sad about the elephant - maybe someone out that way should do a Change.org petition?

Which reminds me - how about Voytek the soldier bear from WWII? After the war he,too, ended up alone, away from his friends in the unit. He was sent to a zoo where, when his old friends visited, they threw him the lighted cigarettes he'd loved to smoke.